Club keen for fans to walk to opener

Martin Dowey

Scarborough Athletic are encouraging supporters to walk to the club’s first game at their new Flamingo Land Stadium base on Saturday.

Boro entertain youngsters from Championship club Sheffield United in an encounter that kicks off at 3pm.

The game is a sell-out, with over 2,000 supporters expected at the new ground.

Boro are moving back home after 10 years of playing their games at Bridlington Town’s Queensgate Stadium.

Chairman Trevor Bull said: “Although the Scarborough Sports Village is well served with around 250 parking spaces, these will inevitably fill up quickly with both sports centre users and fans alike, especially with 2,000 spectators expected on matchday.

“We understand that some fans will need to travel by car, but we advise alternatives, such as walking, cycling, or public transport to get to the match - if these are viable options for people.

“An example is the Seamer Road park and ride and bus services from the town centre, which stop close to the ground and it’s just a short walk through the rail underpass off Seamer Road to the new stadium.

“The ground is even closer to the town centre than the old Athletic ground and it takes less than 10 minutes to walk from the railway station.”

Boro are also keen to be good neighbours to the residents of the Weaponness area of town.

Bull added: “The directors ask supporters not to park in the streets near the ground.

“As a club, we are fully committed to being a good neighbour to Weaponness residents.

“It would be greatly appreciated if fans totally avoided street parking in the vicinity of the Sports Village whenever Scarborough Athletic FC has a home game.”

To encourage sustainable match day travel, Scarborough Athletic will be publishing a travel information pack prior to the start of the 2017-18 league season.